All posts tagged LOT Polish Airlines

The first-quarter results of state-owned LOT Polish Airlines make the carrier confident it will meet budget goals drafted in a restructuring program sent to the European Commission, said Chief Executive Sebastian Mikosz.

“We’re happy with the results of the first quarter, they’re in line with the budget,” he said, declining to provide any numbers.

LOT is on track to make about 70 million zlotys ($23 million) in operating profit on its core business this year, he said. For 2013, it reported a small loss of 4 million zlotys, much narrower than originally planned, after years of failed hedging bets and fierce competition that had forced it to ask the Polish government for an emergency loan. Read More »

After years of heavy losses that pushed it to the brink of bankruptcy, state-owned carrier LOT Polish Airlines swung to a symbolic net profit in 2013, saying Wednesday it boosted passenger numbers and saved fuel by using Boeing Co.’s 787 Dreamliner jets.

LOT made 26 million zlotys ($8.6 million) compared to a loss of nearly 200 million zlotys it had projected for the year in a restructuring program sent to the European Commission. The company is on the radar of the European Union executive after tapping 400 million zlotys in a government loan in 2012 that saved it from insolvency. Read More »

The European Union’s competition watchdog has launched an in-depth investigation into whether the aid Poland’s state-owned air carrier is to receive for its restructuring is in violation of state-aid rules, it said in a statement Wednesday.

LOT Polish Airlines is set to receive a total of 200 million euros ($269.8 million) from the government to carry out a restructuring plan after struggling financially for several years.

The European Commission competition authority says it will “examine in particular whether the planned aid will enable LOT to become viable without continued public funding,” as well as whether the state aid will distort competition. Read More »

When you fly LOT Polish Airlines, negative comments are not an option in the carrier’s in-flight customer satisfaction survey. The struggling airline has limited the choice of words to “stunning,” “amazing” and “breathtaking.”

In a survey posted in the entertainment system aboard Boeing Co.’s 787 Dreamliner airplane, LOT asks passengers to answer “10 multiple choice questions” to be able to “continuously improve our service, to make your journey enjoyable and meet your comfort and expectations.” Read More »

LOT Polish Airlines introduced its fifth Boeing 787 Dreamliner to its offer on Friday ahead of delivery of the aircraft in July completing the long-haul fleet replacement on which the troubled carrier placed high bets.

From August 10, the aging fleet of five Boeing 767s will be retired after two decades of service, LOT said Friday. The company hopes the more cost-efficient Dreamliner will boost profitability of its long-haul operations.

The switch has suffered a series of delays due to production issues and the global grounding of Dreamliners due to battery malfunctions earlier this year. The grounding put an additional strain on the finances of Poland’s state-controlled airline, which last year lost 400 million zlotys ($121 million).

LOT earlier this month asked 381 million zlotys in government aid, a request that was tentatively approved on condition that the airline continues to restructure its operations. The government said LOT’s trade unions and suppliers will need to be on board with “painful changes” ahead. Read More »

The European Commission approved a rescue loan of about $127 million the Polish government gave late last year to LOT Polish Airlines to save it from bankruptcy.

The Commission said the loan was in line with European Union rules on state aid that are designed to prevent market distortions by national governments.

“The Commission found, in particular, that the aid was limited in time and scope,” it said Wednesday. “The Commission has approved the measure temporarily until it can take a position on the restructuring plan to be submitted by Poland by June 20, 2013.”

State-owned LOT has struggled for years in a highly competitive market, posting losses due to high costs and a lack of scale. The state has supported the company for years, including before 2004 when Poland joined the EU. Read More »

LOT Polish Airlines on Thursday resumed ticket sales for flights operated using Boeing Co.’s 787 Dreamliner jet after more than three months of a global grounding.

The only European airline to have taken delivery of Boeing’s innovative jet, LOT had two Dreamliners in service, with one midair, when in January the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration ordered a grounding after incidents involving the airplane’s batteries.

European regulators this week approved Boeing’s proposal to modify the lithium-ion batteries on the jet.

LOT’s first flight using the Dreamliner after the service interruption is planned for June 5 to Chicago. The grounding has added pressure on the loss-making airline, which last year needed a $127 million government loan to stay alive. It will likely require more cash in the months to come, officials have said. Read More »

The Polish government has proposed legislation allowing it to sell a majority stake in LOT Polish Airlines SA, paving the way for the privatization of the troubled carrier later this year.

A dedicated act of parliament currently prohibits the government, which holds 93% of LOT shares, from losing control of the Star-Alliance member. The cabinet Tuesday adopted a draft that invalidates that law, a move which the company has said was required for privatization to go ahead. The government enjoys a backing of a stable majority in both houses of parliament, where the draft will be debated.

LOT’s Chief Executive Sebastian Mikosz, appointed earlier this year after the company had to be rescued with a $127 million emergency loan, said in February he wanted to complete the sale to a private investor later this year. A European Union-based company was “the most natural” buyer, he said at the time.

“There’s no doubt that, if we want to keep pouring public money into this bottomless pit, privatization is the only realistic scenario,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk told a press conference Tuesday.

The Polish government pointed to Austrian Airlines, sold in 2009 to Deutsche Lufthansa SA, as an example of a successful sale of an airline teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. In the neighboring Czech Republic, Korean Air Lines Co. Ltd. this year offered $3.4 million for a 44% in state-owned carrier CSA Czech Airlines. Read More »

LOT Polish Airlines, the only European carrier flying Boeing Co.’s 787 Dreamliner when regulators grounded them in January, said it may now bring the airliner back into service earlier than previously expected.

The troubled Polish flag carrier said it could resume flying its two 787s during the summer. All 787 aircraft were grounded because of battery problems and LOT had said in February that the planes wouldn’t feature in its summer schedule.

LOT’s comments came after Boeing executives on Friday issued a revised timetable for resuming 787 service, cutting the delay to a matter of weeks rather than months following the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s initial approval of the company’s certification plan. Read More »

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